


The Force Awakens: A Musical

by TheColorBlue



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, Multimedia, Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-05-25 04:19:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6179944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheColorBlue/pseuds/TheColorBlue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A musical with a style inspired by the work of John Williams and Lin-Manuel Miranda.</p><p>Track Listing<br/>-Rey: Look to the Stars<br/>-Finn: FN-2187<br/>-Poe: Flight<br/>-Poe & Finn, United (In Love)<br/>-Intermission: Pilot Waltz and Kylo Ren piano sketches<br/>-BB-8: Droid's Got Her Own Theme Song<br/>-Poe: Song for Alderaan<br/>-Kylo Ren: Ben<br/>-Anakin Skywalker: Come Back to the Light<br/>-Star Wars Waltz Sheet Music</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rey: Look to the Stars

It's night, on the little island on the planet of Ahch-To.

Luke, Chewbacca, and R2D2 are sitting around a fire. Luke looks comforted by the companionship of his two old friends. 

Rey is some distance away, sitting on a big rock. The scene starts with her practicing her meditation.

-

REY

Breathe in, hold silence,  
Turn your mind away from fear and violence;  
Breathe out, you’ll find  
You’ll feel the Force with mastery of your mind...

-

After a few moments, she opens her eyes. She looks at the expanse of twinkling stars in the night sky.

-

Left behind at the age of six,  
My world tunneled down to the goal of fixing:  
Not a war fought far, far away,  
But a lonely life spent in endless days.  
Every night I’d look to the stars,  
Calculating travel time in distance and hours,  
Wondering where’s my family?  
Is this really where I was meant to be? No—

Look to the stars,  
Feel there’s a force that’s binding;  
There’s still light worth finding…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the only song I'm going to do for this project that incorporates an existing John Williams composed medley, Rey's theme. Because Rey was given an amazing theme. 
> 
> Technically! Poe also has a leitmotif that I've been able to find, but it's kind of very...stately, heroic, and for Poe's music, later on, I deliberately wrote something I hope felt more down-to-earth. 
> 
> For the lyrics about Rey's past, I started out thinking of the opening rap from Hamilton; you know, introducing the protagonist kind of vibe. And then because this is Star Wars, it sort of gets woven into this more sweeping cinematic melody.


	2. Finn: FN-2187

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Payroo for pointing out the lyric errors! New recording uploaded; and the old one is also still up on my youtube channel.

Finn wakes up in the medbay from a nightmare about the First Order. It’s the middle of the night.

-

FINN

Wake up not knowing the hour,  
Or which power runs the galaxy;  
Is it the First Order? Am I really free?  
All I recall is the fall,  
Kylo Ren standing over me,  
And there’s Rey calling out my name–  
And who’s been sitting vigil at my side?  
And in my dreams they’re confiding  
All the fears they had to hide;  
All of us confronting the Dark Side;  
All of us confronting the dark…

Back with the Order,  
Upheld were strict borders of conformity;  
Keep your eyes on the enemy;  
Raising my weapon to kill, but still staring  
At the blood on my face, of this place,  
I want to run until I—  
Have nothing chasing me but stars,  
And in my dreams I know  
There’s nothing haunting me  
But the lingering ghosts of these scars;  
Like I’m still running from the Dark Side…

-

Finn sits for a moment on the cot, pensive and lost. 

Scene changes: lighting goes from night through sunrise to day, and Finn is sitting on the edge of his cot, puzzling through paperwork. Medical staff bustling around in the peripheries.

Poe comes in visit Finn, plunking down next to him on the cot.

POE: Looks like you’re stuck.

FINN: Yeah, hah, well. Just got lost in thinking. 

POE: You can pick whatever you want for your name, you know. Just because I gave you a nickname doesn’t mean you have to stick with it. 

FINN: Oh. Well, you know, nicknames were kind of a big deal where I come from. Getting a nickname meant that you… people liked you. You fit in. The other guys in my squadron, they had names: Slip, Zero, Nines. No one ever chose their own names, even my old captain didn’t choose her own name. But you wanted to be _given_ a nickname. It meant something. 

POE: Finn…

FINN: I get that I don’t have to keep going by Finn. But I want to, you know?

-

FINN:

FN-2187,  
What, no nickname? Just 2187;  
Even Slip fit in; and also Zero and Nines, in regimented lines;

Well, FN’s  
Not the name I’ve been given;  
No, not FN, or 2187  
I’ve got another plan; I got off that base and became my own man;

With BB-8, Poe, Rey, you gave to me  
A chance I only saw in my dreams;  
A way to find a life, and to find a way to be free;

Well, Finn’s the name I’ve chosen for me  
Finn’s the man I’ve chosen to be. 

-

Finn finishes filling out his paperwork. 

FINN: Well, I guess it’s official! I’m really Finn now. On paper.

POE: That’s great, Finn. That’s really great.

Poe looks kind of admiringly besotted wth Finn. Finn notices and gives him an odd sideways look; they have a moment. An awkward, sitting together with paper romantical moment.


	3. Rey: Look to the Stars

Poe takes the Black One for a practice run. It's a beautiful, clear day. Finn watches from the ground. Poe's probably showing off a little, but mostly it's just a thrill: being up in the sky, BB-8 as co-pilot. 


	4. Falling in Love with Finn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe thinks his affection for Finn in unrequited.   
> Finn wants to go over there and, lovingly, shake some sense into Poe Dameron.

 

 

 

POE:  
Keep your head on straight, Poe Dameron,  
It’s not like Finn’s the kind who’s waiting around for you;  
Don’t get caught staring at that man down there,  
With his perfect smile and eyes and teeth and hair;  
Don’t get caught staring like you care.

BB-8’s been telling me, she might be a droid,  
But even she can tell what’s going on.  
Rumors flying through the gossip mill,  
Truth that’s spilling out, but still it’s killing me to say:

I’m afraid I might be falling in love with Finn.  
Yeah, I’m falling in love with Finn,  
BB-8 don’t you dare tell him—

FINN:  
Poe Dameron, stop avoiding me!  
You run around the corner, like a man’s who’s fleeing;  
Won’t look me in the eye.  
Talking about some Resistance plans,  
Secret missions like you’re such a busy man;  
“I’ve got to run,” you said, “And ran.”

Where’s the pilot long-renowned?  
Resistance fighter, flyboy swagger,  
No TIE-fighter bringing him down;  
All I see is some lovesick guy, blushing hard,  
So blind, it makes me sigh;  
But Poe, you’re my kind of guy.

Can’t you see I’m falling in love with Poe?  
Yeah, I’m falling in love with Poe.


	5. Intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll! So I'm going ahead and posting some rough piano tracks! C:

"Pilot Waltz" : The Star Wars theme as a waltz; inspired by StarMaple's [The Future Prince](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5829598): in which Finn is a long-lost space prince.

-

A piano sketch for a song for Kylo Ren / Ben Solo, focusing on him and his relationship with his grandfather. The end result with vocals will be a bit different, but I liked how this came out so much I'll share it here. 


	6. BB-8 : Droid's Got Her Own Theme Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vocals only; because I ain't Lin-Manuel Miranda and I get out of breath doing just these lyrics, never mind trying to figure out how to work in a back-up piano at the same time.
> 
> Influenced by the work of Miranda, as well as Yoko Kanno's work on the anime Cowboy Bebop.

BB-8 is rolling very cutely through the Resistance base.  
She’s got her own theme song. 

-

Haters see me rolling, roaming through the compound;  
Wheels up, shields on, but put your guns down;  
Off to my ‘fighter, gonna head to outer space  
‘cause you never seen an astromech until you’ve seen my face—

They never gonna see us when we fly,  
Bang, bang, hot shot,  
Couldn’t hit us if they try;  
We gonna set a record ‘fore we die,  
First Order hear us coming? Better get outta the sky.

BB-8’s favorite past-time  
Flying through space, stopping war crimes;  
See us dive, take those fighters out,  
Then high-five; Poe, what’s going on;  
BB-8’s pilot master,  
Flying through space, with our blasters;

X-Wing foils locked in attack position;  
When Black Leader radios you know you better listen.

Uh-huh.  
Oh, yeah.  
Mhmm.

-

Poe is waiting by Black One. BB-8’s theme song can kind of be heard like radio music going on in the background. Poe sees BB and his face lights up.

POE: Hey, buddy! What’s going on?

BB-8 chirrups and rolls over to under Black One. She’s pulled up onto the fighter. Poe climbs into the cockpit. 

The last phrases of the song are heard as they take off.


	7. Poe: Song for Alderaan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired 100% by Oscar Isaac's folk singing in Inside Llewyn Davis.  
> I'm not sure when this song takes place, but it should happen as related to Poe being a pilot, and also his pretty much familial relationship with Leia Organa.

POE  
[with guitar]

Mother said, don’t take my son away;  
Leave him to live yet another day.  
Death turned to gaze on my face;  
He said: you won’t find peace in this place.

Let me fly swiftly, through wind and through rain;  
Let all the stars circle round;  
Let me feel deeply all loss and all pain  
Of all the worlds with which we’re bound.

And the stars did mourn Alderaan;  
And the stars, they’re still crying;  
And the stars did mourn Alderaan,  
Yeah, that's why we're still flying;  
Yeah, that's why we're still flying.


	8. Kylo Ren: Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this song made me laugh and be sad sometimes pretty much at the exact same time. Ben Solo is the trash anxiety son, but it's also canon that Snoke has been pretty much grooming Ben Solo to be that trash anxiety son since infancy, so.
> 
> Contextually: I'd say this is a time jump in the narrative from the previous parts. Something dramatic happens. Kylo Ren has a redemption arc. Also eventually he gets to hang out with his Force ghost grandpa because that is all I need from the next films.

KYLO REN

All of my life, I’ve heard a voice in my head;  
I thought it was you, Grandfather;  
Now I know it was Snoke, instead;  
All of my life I’ve heard a voice in my mind;  
Urging me: reject kindness, and make myself willfully blind;

I’ve been marching further and further in darkness,  
Losing my way, losing my mind;  
If you can hear my words, Grandfather please come and guide me,  
Grandfather find me,  
Help me out of this endless night.

Mother never knew my mind,  
Father never had the time,  
No one there could understand,  
And Luke, just an old foolish man;  
I knew if I could speak to you,  
You’d know my rage  
You’d be the sage  
I could turn to… 

All of my life, I’ve felt a wound in my heart,  
The world was a terror  
Full of lies and of pain, from the start;  
All of my life, I’ve never trusted a soul  
And now that I know, now that I know it was never you within  
How can I begin,  
How can I begin,  
To find my way again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's all the songs I currently have! I don't know if I'll come up with more, even the Alderaan and Ben songs were completely spur of the moment when I initially came up with the ideas for them.
> 
> I'll also be (slowly!) adapting these tunes into an original sci fi musical, you can find me muttering and sketching songs for that on my tumblr tagged [this ain't Yavin 4](http://magickedteacup.tumblr.com/tagged/this-ain%27t-Yavin-4) because the entire conceit of the musical is WW2 as it impacted South America; tagged Yavin 4 because I will blame Oscar Isaac for the seed of this idea, 100% That guy is so sly. So clever. Look at him, getting JJAbrams to not only not kill the one Space Latinx in the Star Wars films, but also making it canonical that Poe is basically a Space Latinx in the first place.


	9. Anakin Skywalker: Come Back to the Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a perfect recording, but by this time I've figured out that if I wait for 'perfect' this video was never going to go up online.

Anakin Skywalker's Force ghost attempts to reason with Kylo Ren. And by reason, I mean figuratively grab him by his unwashed robes and shake some sense into him. I imagine this song to be part of a Kylo Ren redemption arc that includes him and Anakin building some kind of peculiar grandson-grandfather relationship.

ANAKIN:

Ben, come back to the light;  
You’re coming back if I have to drag you there myself, grandson—  
Ben, come back to what’s right!  
Turn away from death and violence…

I’ve been down this path before, I know  
How hard it is to tear yourself away from the darkness.  
But you’ll follow me, so follow me home—

You think I’m nice about this? Think again!  
I was Darth Vader once, I can show that power again, for you.  
If it’ll help you follow me, so follow me home—

Ben, I know what it’s like;  
I’m familiar with the bloodless screams,  
The death of dreams;  
I, too, have blood on my soul;  
But staying here won’t heal your mind or make you whole.


	10. Star Wars Waltz Sheet Music

I'm no longer actively working on this musical, but I wanted to link sheet music for the Star Wars "Pilot Waltz" for anyone interested :)  
[Sheet Music](https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/93a4f89adb8ee21afecfe9a9c9b6660201e403d3)


End file.
